The A#1 Air Story

You see their faces on our trucks and in local advertisements. You hear our jingle, "Guaranteed Right, Day or Night," on your TV and radio. But what does it mean to you? Why do we keep James and Sherry Green's faces as the largest iconic part of our branding? Simply put – they are the brand!

There would be no A#1 Air without James & Sherry Green. A#1 Air started over 25 years ago. The rest, as they say, is history – so we'd like to share our history with you.

1987 – The Year it All Started

Our successful business is built off of the personal foundation James and Sherry have with each other. They met in 1987 and, with the help of James' parents, launched the company that same year in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 1988, they married, marking the beginning of their personal commitment to each other and their professional commitment to building a business together.

1990 – Dallas Becomes Home

James and Sherry moved to Dallas in 1990 and opened A-OK Appliance Service. The first office location was at Marsh and Spring Valley.

Sherry answered all the calls and managed the money.

James serviced all of the calls and trained our first technician, David Ravenscroft – who works here today!

We also got our first red truck!

1994 – Air Conditioning & Heating Services are Introduced

Between 1992 and 1996, we also had appliance service locations in Austin and Oklahoma City. We grew our staff and changed a few locations.

In 1994, we added heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) as a service, not realizing at the time how paramount this decision would be.

In 1997, we saw a great need for quality air conditioning and heating services in the DFW area. We closed all remote locations, changed our name to A#1 Air & Appliance, and began a solo concentration to be the chosen HVAC service provider in the Dallas area. We had our work cut out for us; but we knew we were on to something! And we were up to 9 trucks!

2000 to 2008 – Tremendous Growth, Tremendous Challenges

During this time, we moved to Crescent Drive in Carrollton, where we stayed for 10 years. We thought the best way to brand ourselves was to push the primary brand we serviced and installed. We actually looked like we worked for Carrier.

The year 2007 was a milestone. It was the largest we ever had been. We had 33 full-time employees and 18 trucks.

While we were overjoyed with our growth, worked well together, stayed goal-oriented, and had lots fun, we were also challenged by our growth. We had not yet figured out how to financially balance our busy and slow seasons. It was feast during the warm months and famine during the cold months. The Greens had to take money out against their home and max out credit cards in order to make payroll during the slow seasons. We also still had no managers. James & Sherry were managing every department and every employee. Something had to give!

2009 – A Season of Positive Change Begins

James & Sherry took some time to reflect, set more defined goals, create plans, and take action. They strategized on how to take our company to the next level. They joined Airtime 500 and worked on new branding

With the new branding came new goals and a need for a new business model. We also needed a new image and new processes. We were getting there.

Then something amazing happened. We went through an identity crisis! James & Sherry started questioning our own brand. Up until this point, we had always used the primary brand we serviced and sold to help sell our services. We still looked like we worked for Carrier. Even our logo was the same shape.

So James and Sherry asked themselves a very fundamental, but key question:

WHO ARE WE?

The Greens went through an identity crisis that later became a pivotal benchmark for our company as well as A/C and heating services in the Dallas area.

The answer to the question The Greens were asking themselves of "Who are we?" was right there in their faces. The answer was simple: The brand! WE are the brand! It suddenly became crystal clear to James and Sherry that we didn't need any of the manufacturers to sell our services. Our services are just that – OUR services.

We finally got it! We realized any and all feedback from customers was about our services, not the products. So we changed our business model to reflect just that. This part of our business model is now anchored. It will never change.

The problem was that our own brand, services, dedication, commitment, expertise, and true love for our customers couldn't fully be seen. We'd been hiding our own company and services behind our manufacturers' labels and didn't even realize it. It was past time to step out in front and show our Dallas communities who we were and what we could do.

2010 – A#1 Air, "Guaranteed Right, Day or Night" Was Born!

Once we "got it" that we are the brand, we took that even more seriously than we did before. We added additional guarantees and focused even more on promises, such as:

Treat all customers and employees like family.

Perform services right the first time.

If we make a mistake, make it right, ASAP.

Price it right.

Do the right thing – always.

All of our guarantees and promises are from James and Sherry Green personally. That's why they are on all of our trucks, our commercials, and pretty much everywhere you see or hear anything about A#1 Air. They personally promise that our services are "Guaranteed Right, Day or Night!" and everyone in the company working under them upholds that promise as well.

And our logo and our trucks finally communicate 100% who we are.

James and Sherry not only work daily to stay in touch with our customers' needs, but they also strive to stay in touch with all employee needs. They expect certain standards from their employees and won't accept anything less. They provide in-house training for all technicians, led by a leading industry veteran who is also a NATE proctor with many accolades.

The Greens have worked hard for almost a quarter of a century to ensure our Dallas families and business owners have the best A/C and heating services available. While many internal changes took place, we also had to get the word out about our new higher standards. That not only meant the right training internally, it also meant ramping up the marketing budget, and having some fun while doing so. From trade shows, to radio and TV, we built a communication bridge to our customers and crossed over it successfully.

We made a commitment to being the best – and we're all dedicated to working on that commitment every single day. We also made that communication bridge to our customers a two-way street. We opened several ways for customers to get in touch with us at any given time, including giving out The Greens' personal cell phone numbers.

We quickly started being recognized for the service level we were performing at and earned the reputation as the one to call. To date, we have countless awards, most that we've won many times over.

2010 to 2012 – More Milestones, More Growth, Not Enough Room

By this time, we had well figured out how to balance busy and slow seasons. We continued to excel with our services, sharpened customer service skills, and had top teams in place all across the board. We even experienced national record breaking.

By June of 2010, we were in a 14,000 sq. ft. building. By 2012 we had 200 employees, 100 trucks, incredible financial successes, and had earned a solid reputation as the premier A/C company in the Dallas area. But we could not get everyone into the company meeting room at the same time. Nor did we have enough room for parking. Our business neighbors hated us for taking up so much space in our shared parking lot. A lot of technicians had to take their trucks home, whether they wanted to or not. We had outgrown ourselves again!

While we had always given back to our local communities, we began to give back even more through Volunteer Spotlight, Senior Christmas, Toys for Tots, Homes for Heroes, and many other valuable non-profit organizations and local charities, while we worked to figure out how to deal with being cramped again.

The Greens also ramped up the employee parties and appreciation ceremonies to give back to us as well.

2013 – The Warmest Winter Yet!

On November 7, 2013, we bought our new building, where we currently reside. Our new 64,000 sq. ft. home not only gives us all the room that we need (including parking), but affords us room for growth. And we are taking full advantage of that!

On November 11, 2013, James and Sherry celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary.

Twenty-five years of marriage and almost 25 years as equal company owners and operators! The Greens have worked side by side through it all – and still have lunch together almost every day. A#1 Air is their baby and they have zero plans to sell it. They continue to improve services, customer service, specialized service teams, sales, processes, training, and more. They continue to raise the bar in our industry and set higher company standards that everyone in the company is expected to uphold.

On December 21, 2013, we officially moved into our new building that we now proudly call home.

We've already had some great celebrations and award ceremonies in our new home.

And although we fill up the room, we finally have enough space for everyone to be part of our company wide meetings. Well, for the most part anyway. As we continue to grow some do have to stand in the back and in alongside the walls, but we make it work.

The Next Chapter

Today, that original two-person operation has grown to an extremely successful business that houses over 300 employees and counting and operates in a 64,000 sq. ft. building.

We also conduct our own in-house HVAC technician training and certification in our on-site, state of the art training and education facility. We are about to open our HVAC training and education facility up to technicians all over the country. This is just one thing that sets us apart from other service providers in the area.

We've earned the local reputation as "The Best in the Biz" – because we treat everyone like family. Everything we've done over the years, and every decision that has been made, has been made from the premise of treating everyone like family. We treasure that reputation and don't take it lightly.

A huge part of what got us where we are today is from listening to our local communities' needs, and doing what we can to fill those needs. As we've heard and seen needs in additional service areas, we've worked hard to be able to meet those needs as well.

In April of 2014, in addition to our residential HVAC and commercial HVAC services, we opened our doors even wider to service our Dallas area residents and businesses by bringing on seasoned, licensed teams for:

Our additional lines of business makes us a valuable extension for families and businesses needing the services we offer. We bring comfort, security, and improved daily lives with our services and that is something we take very seriously. We offer a lifetime guarantee on all craftsmanship, for all services and have a 100% money back guarantee.